This invention relates to a livestock feeder for use in dispensing cylindrical bales to a group of animals and particularly cattle.
As cattlemen well know, merely depositing a large bale in a pen containing group of cattle leads to significant amounts of waste which can amount to 50% of the bale. This is because the animals tend to pick the best parts from the bale and to break up the bale while so doing following which other parts of the bale become trampled and soiled and are no longer eaten.
This problem has to some extent been reduced by the manufacture of feeders which basically comprise a cylindrical frame within which the bale is placed, the frame including a number of bars which prevent the animal from entering the frame while allowing the animal to place its head through the bars to grasp the feed material for eating. However, there remain significant losses with a device of this type. The present inventor has observed carefully the use of such apparatus and has found that the reason for such losses is that the animal tends to place its head into the frame aarrangement to grasp the best portion of the material and then tends to remove its head from the frame to eat the material and in some cases drops poorer material onto the ground around its feet which again becomes trampled.
It is one object of the present invention, therefore, to provide an improved livestock feeder of this general type which yet further reduces waste.
According to a first aspect of the invention, therefore, there is provided a feeder for receiving a large cylindrical bale for distributing the bale to a group of animals comprising a inner rail member arranged and dimensioned to surround the bale and to act as a confining member therefor, an outer frame arrangement surrounding the rail member including a plurality of spaced bars arranged and dimensioned such that the bars prevent the body of the animal from passing through the frame to the inner rail while allowing the head and neck to pass therethrough, and means interconnecting the frame and the inner rail member arranged to support the rail member in spaced position from the ground and to maintain the spacing between the frame and the rail member such that the head of the animal can be received therebetween and such that the animal can reach the bale inside the rail member.
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a feeder for receiving a large cylindrical bale for distribution to a group of animals comprising a cylindrical inner frame structure arranged and dimensioned to surround the bale and to act as a confining member therefor and comprising an upper rail, a lower rail for resting on the ground and a plurality of struts interconnecting the upper and lower rails, an outer frame structure surrounding the inner frame structure including an upper rail member, a lower rail member and a plurality of spaced bars arranged and dimensioned such that the bars prevent the body of the animal from passing through the frame to the inner frame structure while allowing the head and neck to pass therethrough, and means interconnecting the outer frame structure and the inner frame structure arranged such that the feeder forms an integral, movable structure having an open base defined by said lower rail and said lower rail member both of which can rest on the ground and arranged to maintain the spacing between the inner frame structure and the outer frame structure such that the head of the animal can be received therebetween and such that the animal can reach the bale inside the inner frame structure with its body outside the outer frame structure.
The invention therefore has the advantage that the animal is kept out of the area immediately surrounding the bale by the outer frame structure. In addition and more importantly the animal tends to eat with its head inserted between the bars of the outer frame structure so that when it grasps a portion of the bale, it tends to retain its head within the outer frame structure in the space between the outer frame structure and the inner rail so that any material dropped from the eating process collects between the outer frame structure and the inner rail and remains untrampled and unsoiled.
Preferably the inner frame structure includes the inner rail which engages the ground so that this assists in confining the bale and if the apparatus is moved by pushing by the animals, the ground rail tends to move any material inside the inner frame along with the whole structure. This prevents the material from working its way out under the edges of the outer frame for trampling and waste.
A further preferred feature provides a skirt around the lower edge of the outer frame structure defined between a bottom rail and an intermediate rail and formed of a sheet material so as yet further to confine the feed material between the outer frame structure and the inner frame.
With the foregoing in view, and other advantages as will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention relates as this specification proceeds, the invention is herein described by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, which includes a description of the best mode known to the applicant and of the preferred typical embodiment of the principles of the present invention, in which: